Rod with wall form sealing and spacing means

ABSTRACT

A seal member and retainer for tie rods in concrete wall forms is provided. The seal member is radially cammable into sealing engagement with a form bore through which the tie rod passes so as to prevent leakage of wet concrete from the form.

United States Patent 1191 Abbott 14 1 Nov. 11, 1975 1 1 ROD WITH WALL FORM SEALING AND SPACING MEANS [76] Inventor: Clyde I-I. Abbott, 1085-8 Oak Hill Road. Lafayette. Calif. 94549 [22] Filed: Jan. 22, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 435,518

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 381.806. July 23.

1973. abandoned.

[52] U.S. Cl. 249/43; 249/216 [51] Int. Cl. E04G 17/08 [58] Field of Search 249/40-41.

249/43. 46.l90191, 2l32l4, 216-217. 94. 97; 425/111; 52/698-699, 712, 223 L; 85/76.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 702.067 6/1902 McCormick 85/71 1.851.339 3/1932 Williams 249/42 3.139.730 7/1964 Williams et al. 249/213 3.178.990 4/1965 Teeple. Jr. 85/76 3.213.744 10/1965 Wagner 85/76 3.216.304 11/1965 James et a1. 85/76 3.221.590 12/1965 Dickow 85/76 3.632.724 1/1972 Hilgeman. .lr... 249/40 3.693.931 9/197'2 Holt 249/46 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1.292.448 2/1958 Germany 85/87 Primary E.\aminerRobert D. Baldwin Assistant E.\'unzl'ner.lohn MeOuade Attorney, Agem. 0r Firn1Phil1ips, Moore. Weissenberger Lempio & Strabala [57] ABSTRACT A seal member and retainer for tie rods in concrete wall forms is provided. The seal member is radially cammable into sealing engagement with a form bore through which the tie rod passes so as to prevent leakage of wet concrete from the form.

18 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 11,1975 Sheet20f2 3,918,673

ROD WITH WALL FORM SEALING AND SPACING MEANS This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 381,806, filed July 23, 1973 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to tie rods and cone assemblies for concrete wall forms of the snap tie type which are designed to be broken off after hardening of a concrete wall. More particularly, the invention is directed to a tie rod with radially cammable seal member for sealingly engaging a wall form so as to prevent loss of wet concrete and entrained water through wall form bores through which the tie rods pass.

In concrete wall construction, a large number of tie rods and cones in the form of tie rod and cone assemblies are used to temporarily position a pair of spaced, parallel planar wall forms so as to provide a mold for receiving wet concrete. Cones in the form of generally frustoconical members are positioned within the form at opposite ends of each tie rod for a basic purpose of leaving a depression or cavity in the hardened wall at the point of protrusion of the tie rod ends.

It may be parenthetically noted that the use of the term cone or cones throughout the following discussion is intended to broadly cover geometric shapes which may be used to form a depression and is not meant to be limited to conical or frustoconical shapes but is to also include other shapes.

A weakened portion is provided on the tie rod at the innermost part of the conical depression which allows the rod to be snapped or broken off within the wall. Subsequent finish operations include grouting of the depressions to the plane of the finished wall surface.

Some of the many prior art patents extant in the concrete wall form area are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,245,559; 2,370,174; 2,728,127; 2,977,659; 3,075,272; 3,464,667; 3,482,813; 3,625,471; 3,643,909; and 3,653,628. These patents illustrate a number of problems and attempted solutions in the concrete wall form area. One of the most pressing problems is in the area of sealing the wall form bore to prevent leakage of the wet concrete material around the tie rods and out through the form bore through which the tie rod protrudes.

Leakage of wet concrete and/or the water or milk" of the concrete out through the form bores is undesirable for several reasons. First, such may result in a ragged or rounded edge at the wall surface which is difficult to grout and thus gives the finished wall an unsightly appearance. Second, the loss of water from the curing concrete results in a degradation of wall.

strength. Third, the leaked concrete fouls the form dogs or other locking devices on the form exterior thus necessitating expensive clean-up operations.

Present attempts to solve this problem have not been satisfactory. The present attempts have had to accommodate themselves to tolerating some leakage since none provides an absolutely perfect seal. Most rely in some manner on the cones for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,370,174 and 3,643,909, illustrate the use of a cone having a diameter greater than that of the form bore diameter such that the large diameter end of the cone obturates the bore. However, form bores tend to enlarge after repeated use and thus provide an avenue for leakage. Also, misalignment of the tie rod and cone with respect to the bore results in leakage. Even when the large diameter end of the cone is positioned against the interior wall of the form, discontinuities and misalignments result in leakage.

Another approach illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,482,813, has the cone in the form of a double frustoconical member closely fitted within the form bore. However, dimensional changes during use as well as dimensional tolerances result in having to accept some leakage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a positive sealing device for use in concrete wall construction to prevent undesired leakage of concrete and moisture.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such a device which is inexpensive as well as easily installed and removed.

The invention takes the form of a cammable seal member adapted to be fitted within a form bore and radially expanded by camming into sealing engagement therewith. A retainer is also included for holding the seal member in sealing engagement whereby leakage is positively prevented. Locking means are provided for the retainer so as to hold the retainer in position operatively engaged with the seal member.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following drawings and description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a transverse view in partial cross section of a prior art concrete form enclosing a body of concrete between the walls thereof and illustrating the tie rod, cone and locking structure thereof;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of the same in partial cross section taken along lines 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in partial cross section of a preferred embodiment of the seal member of the invention shown prior to emplacement of the retainer in the body of the seal member;

FIG. 4 is a top-quarter isometric view similar to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view in partial cross section showing the retainer emplaced within the body of the seal member;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation view taken in the direction 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top-quarter isometric view of a first alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view in partial cross section of the embodiment of FIG. 7 with the retainer emplaced within the body of the seal member;

FIG. 9 is an end elevation view taken in the direction 99 in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a top-quarter isometric view of a second alternate embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view in partial cross section of the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the retainer emplaced within the body of the seal member; and,

FIG 12 is an end elevation view taken in the direction 12 12 in FIG. 11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the environment and the prior art tie rod and cone device which the instant invention is designed to be an improvement over. With particular reference to FIG. 1, the concrete form shown generally at includes a pair of planar walls 12, 14 supported in spaced, parallel relation by means of a plurality of tie rods, one of which is shown at 16. Upright struts 18, have transverse walls 22, 24 thereon.

Tie rod 16 extends transverse to the form and has opposite ends thereof 26, 28 extending through form bores 30, 32 and in spaced concentric relation therewith. The rod ends extend through the struts and wales. The rod ends are provided with heads 34, 36 which are engaged by bifurcated wedges or dogs 38, 40, respectively. The bifurcations of the ramp shaped wedges straddle the rod intermediate the heads 34, 36 and wales 22, 24, respectively.

Intermediate the walls and within the area of the enclosed concrete 42, are stops in the form of lateral enlargements 44, 46 against which washers 48, 50 are placed. Also concentrically disposed on the rod adjacent the washers are cone members 52, 54. These cone members act as spreaders in concert with the washers and stops to index the walls a desired distance apart. The cone members are of frustoconical configuration. The larger diameter ends thereof abut against the interior of the form walls. The cones also serve to mold a depression or cavity in the finished concrete wall to allow the rod end to be broken off within the wall at a fracture point (not shown) on each rod end and within the wall. A more complete description of the prior art device may be gotten, if desired, by having reference to aforementioned US. Pat. No. 2,370,174.

Turning to FIG. 3, there is shown the device of the instant invention situ in a concrete wall form. The seal member shown generally at 110. The seal member is comprised of a forward frustoconical body portion 160, and a rear, generally cylidrical hollow body portion 162 within which generally cylindrical retainer member 164 is adapted to be fitted, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

As seen in FIG. 4, the rear body portion has an internal, axial bore 166 therethrough. A frustoconical, flared inlet 168 is provided to facilitate. the entry of the retainer. A frustoconical portion 170 on retainer 164 is provided for the same purpose. Retainer 164 is guided by a radially projecting rib 174 which is engageable in an accommodating groove 176 within and at the top of bore 166 and opposite slit 178. Also located at the top rear end of body 162 are a pair of spaced, axial projections 180 which mate with radial projection so as to form a locking means for the retainer when in its fully engaged position in rear body 162 as best seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. The slot 184 formed by projections 180 is narrower at its rear or entrance end and wider at its forward end than the width of projection 182. As may be seen, rib 174 serves to index the projection 182 into slot 184.

The seal member may be conveniently made of a resiliently deformable material such asplastic in order to facilitate the entry of projection 182 into slot 184. The diameter of retainer 164. is greater than that of bore 166 such that opposite, arcuate bifurcated sidwall portions 186, 188 of the rear body are deformed or cammed into sealing engagement with the form bore. It should be noted that bores 166 and 172 are axially offset with respect to the axes of the rear body 162 and retainer 164, respectively.

The deformable material facilitates the lateral positioning of the retainer 164 on the rod 116 by means of slit 190 which is cut through to bore 172 from the exterior of the retainer along its length.

In operation, the elongated rod 116 with seal mem-. her thereon is positioned in relation to the form bore as seen in FIG. 3. Forward frustoconical body per-- tion is positioned so that the front lip 192 thereof abuts the form wall. 1 12 adjacent the lowermost portion of form bore 130. In this manner the body portion 160 l functions to space the parallel form walls as well as obturate the passage formed by the opening of slit 178 and thus prevent the egress of wet concrete material.

As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the. retainer .164 is advanced to the position shown which spreads or cams the bifurcated side portions 186, 188 of the rear body into sealing engagement with the form bore and.

wherein projection 182 is fully engaged in slot 184. Re versal of the above steps may be used to remove the seal member.

In FIGS. 7-9 there is shown a first alternate embodi ment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3-6. The seal member shown generally at 210 is comprised of a forward frustoconical body portion 260, and a rear, gener-' ally cylindrical hollow body portion 262 within which a retainer member 264 is adapted to be fitted. As best seen in FIG. 7, the rear body portion has an axial bore 266 therethrough. The retainer 264 has a projecting, bifurcated rib 274 which is engageable within longitudinal slot 278 of the rear body portion. The tapered surfaces 275, 277 of the retainer enable radially out- I ward camming of the forward end of the rear body portion 262 into sealing engagement with the form bore 230. The forward diameter portion 279 and side faces of rib 274,one of which is shown at 281, are dimensioned larger than'the internal diameter of bore 266 and the width of slot 278, respectively, to effect the de-.,

sired sealing engagement. The retainer may conveniently contain a slot 283 narrower than offsetborem member such that locking up the form dog 240causes the desired advancement. The offset of bore 272 from the central axis of retainer 264 causes a lip 292 of cone. 260 in a manner like that described for the preferred embodiment.

A second alternate embodiment is shown in FIGS. l012.'With this embodiment, the seal member, shown generally at 310, comprises a forward frustoconical body portion 360 and a rear, generally cylindrical hol-.

low body portion 362 having an axial bore 366 therethrough. With this embodiment, a generally cylindrical retainer 364 having a tapered forward end portion 377 is provided. Rear body 362 has a longitudinally di-1 rected slit 378 therein which forms bifurcated side por tions 386, 388. The maximum diameter of tapered portion 377 is greater than the diameter of bore 366 to enable radially outward camming of the bifurcatedside portions into sealing engagement with the form bore; 330 in a manner like that previously described with the first alternate embodiment.

As best seen in FIG. 10, a longitudinal slot 383 leads to an axial bore 372 to enable lateral installation on rod 316. As with the first alternate embodiment, the retainer may be alternatively made without the slot and fixed to or formed as an integral part of the cone 360, and advancement into sealing engagement may be accomplished in a similar manner.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description is merely illustrative of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention and that the scope of the invention is not to be limited thereto, but is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A tie rod and cone assembly in combination with a pair of spacedapart wall forms for use in temporarily positioning said pair of spaced-apart wall forms, the tie rod and cone assembly comprising rod means in the form of a generally elongated member defining an axis each end of which projects through a respective bore in said spaced-apart wall forms and a seal means for sealingly engaging said bore in a wall form and for sealing said bore against ingress and egress of fluid, said seal means positioned on each end of said rod means and comprising front, body means on said tie rod for contacting and sealing against the inner wall of said spaced-apart wall forms, and rear, generally cylindrical body means of a diameter less than that of said bore having an axial bore therethrough, said tie rod extending through said axial bore, said rear body means further defining a pair of generally arcuate, bifurcated sidewall portions and retainer means on said tie rod engageable with said rear body means for camming said sidewall portions into sealing engagement with said wall form bore.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said retainer means comprises a generally cylindrical retainer adapted to be removably insertable into the axial bore in said rear body means, the diameter of said retainer being greater than the diameter of said axial bore.

3. The invention of claim 2 further including means for locking said retainer to said rear body means.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said locking means comprises a pair of axially extending projections on said rear body means located so as to engage a radial projection on said retainer when the retainer is fully engaged in said rear body means.

5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer further includes an axial bore therethrough receiving said rod means.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said retainer further includes means defining a slit extending the length of the retainer so as to facilitate lateral placement of the retainer on the rod means.

7. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer further includes an axial rib thereon, and said axial bore commodating said rib.

8. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer has a generally frustoconical forward end and said axial bore has a generally frustoconical inlet portion so as to facilitate entry of said retainer into said axial bore.

9. The invention of claim 5 wherein said front body means comprises a front, generally frustonconical body portion having a symmetrically placed bore therethrough, said rod means extending through said bore in said front body means, and wherein said bore in said retainer is axially offset from the central axis of said retainer.

10. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means defining the sidewall portions of said rear body means is a longitudinal slot in said rear body means.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said retainer means comprises a projecting rib adapted for insertion into said slot for outward camming of said sidewall portions.

-l2. The invention of claim 11 wherein said retainer means further comprises a body having tapered wall surfaces adapted for insertion into said axial bore for outward camming of said sidewall portions.

13. The invention of claim 12 further including a longitudinal slot in said rib for enabling lateral placement on said rod means. I

14. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means defining the sidewall portions of said rear body means comprises means defining a longitudinal slot in said rear body means and wherein said retainer means comprises a generally cylindrical retainer having a tapered forward end portion adapted for insertion into said axial bore for outward camming of said sidewall portions.

15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said retainer further includes a longitudinal slot therein for enabling lateral placement on said rod means.

16. The invention of claim 15 wherein said front body means further comprises a front, generally frustoconical body portion having a symmetrically-placed bore therethrough, and wherein said retainer includes a corresponding bore therethrough which is axially offset from'the central axis of the retainer.

17. The invention of claim 16 wherein said longitudinal slot leads to said bore in said retainer so as to enable lateral installation on a rod.

18. The invention of claim 13 wherein said front body means further comprises a front, generally frustoallyoffset from the central axis of the retainer. 

1. A tie rod and cone assembly in combination with a pair of spaced-apart wall forms for use in temporarily positioning said pair of spaced-apart wall forms, the tie rod and cone assembly comprising rod means in the form of a generally elongated member defining an axis each end of which projects through a respective bore in said spaced-apart wall forms and a seal means for sealingly engaging said bore in a wall form and for sealing said bore against ingress and egress of fluid, said seal means positioned on each end of said rod means and comprising front, body means on said tie rod for contacting and sealing against the inner wall of said spaced-apart wall forms, and rear, generally cylindrical body means of a diameter less than that of said bore having an axial bore therethrough, said tie rod extending through said axial bore, said rear body means further defining a pair of generally arcuate, biFurcated sidewall portions and retainer means on said tie rod engageable with said rear body means for camming said sidewall portions into sealing engagement with said wall form bore.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said retainer means comprises a generally cylindrical retainer adapted to be removably insertable into the axial bore in said rear body means, the diameter of said retainer being greater than the diameter of said axial bore.
 3. The invention of claim 2 further including means for locking said retainer to said rear body means.
 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said locking means comprises a pair of axially extending projections on said rear body means located so as to engage a radial projection on said retainer when the retainer is fully engaged in said rear body means.
 5. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer further includes an axial bore therethrough receiving said rod means.
 6. The invention of claim 5 wherein said retainer further includes means defining a slit extending the length of the retainer so as to facilitate lateral placement of the retainer on the rod means.
 7. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer further includes an axial rib thereon, and said axial bore in said rear body means includes an axial groove for accommodating said rib.
 8. The invention of claim 2 wherein said retainer has a generally frustoconical forward end and said axial bore has a generally frustoconical inlet portion so as to facilitate entry of said retainer into said axial bore.
 9. The invention of claim 5 wherein said front body means comprises a front, generally frustonconical body portion having a symmetrically placed bore therethrough, said rod means extending through said bore in said front body means, and wherein said bore in said retainer is axially offset from the central axis of said retainer.
 10. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means defining the sidewall portions of said rear body means is a longitudinal slot in said rear body means.
 11. The invention of claim 10 wherein said retainer means comprises a projecting rib adapted for insertion into said slot for outward camming of said sidewall portions.
 12. The invention of claim 11 wherein said retainer means further comprises a body having tapered wall surfaces adapted for insertion into said axial bore for outward camming of said sidewall portions.
 13. The invention of claim 12 further including a longitudinal slot in said rib for enabling lateral placement on said rod means.
 14. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means defining the sidewall portions of said rear body means comprises means defining a longitudinal slot in said rear body means and wherein said retainer means comprises a generally cylindrical retainer having a tapered forward end portion adapted for insertion into said axial bore for outward camming of said sidewall portions.
 15. The invention of claim 14 wherein said retainer further includes a longitudinal slot therein for enabling lateral placement on said rod means.
 16. The invention of claim 15 wherein said front body means further comprises a front, generally frustoconical body portion having a symmetrically-placed bore therethrough, and wherein said retainer includes a corresponding bore therethrough which is axially offset from the central axis of the retainer.
 17. The invention of claim 16 wherein said longitudinal slot leads to said bore in said retainer so as to enable lateral installation on a rod.
 18. The invention of claim 13 wherein said front body means further comprises a front, generally frustoconical body portion having a symmetrically-placed bore therethrough, and wherein said retainer means includes a corresponding bore therethrough which is axially offset from the central axis of the retainer. 